The Folklore. The Myths. The Customs… What Should We Do With Them?
The Folklore. The Myths. The Customs… What Should We Do With Them?
Author(s): Florin CiobanSubject(s): Book-Review
Published by: Editura Universitatii din Oradea
Keywords: folklore; folklore study in Romania; interview; customs; rites of passage; folklore informer; contemporary sorceress;
Summary/Abstract: Otilia Hedeșan, the author and initiator of the volume, renders it an extraordinary value by using the gathered information in a new form and by focusing in the chapter Numărătoarea Mare, (The Big Numbering) and the following ones, on the multiple roles held by Baba Ruța from Topolovățu Mare: she is at the same time the death-washer and the rascal witch, the seductress in her youth and the blackmailer of some powerful members of the communist party, the profiteer and the fortune teller, the folklore keeper and the folklore creator. All these features make of her a local personality. Her extended knowledge as far as the sacred domain is concerned reveals her as somebody who is a treasure for the others. Apart from the ritualistic context and the meta-text represented by the very bibliography of the theme, the Big Numbering opens new territories.
Journal: Analele Universităţii din Oradea Fascicula Limba si Literatura Română (ALLRO)
- Issue Year: 23/2016
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 206-210
- Page Count: 5
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF